8 May 2025, 11:42

By John Swinney

This week, I marked my first year in office as Scotland’s First Minister and set out my Programme for Government – the plan for what we will do to support people in Scotland over the next year.

Ordinarily, this would be published much later in the year – but I’ve brought it forward to ensure we can act now to deliver on people’s priorities and to allow a full year of delivery before the Scottish Parliament elections.

Times are still tough for too many people, and it is so important to me that people across the country know that my government is focussed – fully and entirely – on their priorities, and that I as First Minister am on their side.

Since taking office a year ago, I have heard loud and clear what people have been telling us about access to the NHS. While many people will tell me about their positive experiences of world-class care, there are in too many cases difficulties in accessing that care.

That is particularly true when it comes to trying to get a GP appointment which causes real frustration for people. So we’ve listened and we’re taking........

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